Summary

Modern is unique in how incredibly diverse it is. Diversity doesn’t mean that a bunch of decks have been made out of the cards available, but rather that an incredible number of decks have been successful at high levels. This was perfectly proven yesterday, as Shayne Morris took a deck centered around Enduring Ideal and powerful enchantments locking the opponent out all the way to the semifinals of the SCG Classic that accompanied the Invitational and Open in Roanoke this weekend.

As the name would suggest, Enduring Ideal is a crucial part of this deck. The 7 mana sorcery allows this deck to search up any enchantment and put it into play, turn after turn until the game is locked up. While 7 mana is certainly expensive, this deck has a number of ways of delaying the game until it can be cast. Blood Moon and Leyline of Sanctity, as we’ve seen in the past, have the ability to completely shut off opponents depending on what they are playing, while Lotus Bloom is a powerful 1 time mana ramp spell that can get Enduring Ideal out as early as turn 4. Ghostly Prison and Suppression Field are incredibly hard cards for the opponent to slog through, taxing attacks and activated abilities (including fetchlands!) respectively.

Once Enduring Ideal is cast, this deck has a number of exciting ways of killing the opponent. Dovescape, combined with this deck’s ways of preventing attacks from the opponent, Ghostly Prison and Sphere of Safety, nearly completely locks the opponent out of spells and attacks. Form of the Dragon is certainly the most peculiar card in this deck, but is one that has earned its spot. Assuming enough defenses are up or the opponent has no flying attackers, the drawback of setting your life total to 5 is nearly inconsequential, and it then ends the game in only a matter of a few turns. When combined with Phyrexian Unlife, it creates an incredibly hard to beat lock that forces the opponent to have burst damage every turn for several turns to win.

Some of the other enchantments in this deck are role players, but ones that have the power to be exactly what is needed in particular situations. Oblivion Ring is simply a spot removal spell, but one that is cheap and can be tutored up by Enduring Ideal and Idyllic Tutor. Runed Halo, however, is the much preferred removal spell, as it’s cheaper and has more versatility across the diverse Modern metagame. Overwhelming Splendor is a rather splashy enchantment from Hour of Devastation that combines beautifully with Form of the Dragon and helps to lock many games up. As a side note, this deck has 61 cards, so my changes below do keep the deck at the minimum 60.